Week 9: CST 338 - Software Design

First Steps in CST338: Java, Git, and Coding Challenges

This week, we started a new class: CST 338: Software Design. It is exciting, and I like it so far. In this class, we are using the Java programming language along with IDEs like IntelliJ and Android Studio. These tools are new to me, but I haven't experienced any major difficulties yet - Java feels quite similar to other languages I've worked with, and the IDEs are intuitive once you get used to them. Dr. C. also introduced us to version control using Git and GitHub through the integrated terminal. He showed us how to use basic Git commands such as git status, git add ., git commit -m "message", git checkout -b branchname, and git merge. We also learned how to set up .gitignore files using a plugin and how Git tracks file changes locally until they are pushed to GitHub. The lectures provided helpful context on using Gradle as a build system and how we can structure our Java projects cleanly with folders for main, test, and resources.

As for the CodingBat challenges, I found them fairly straightforward. These were simple, self-contained tasks, so I didn't need to spend time planning - most solutions were written immediately. The only thing I did beforehand was ask ChatGPT for lists of available methods for classes like Array, String, List, and Map. One challenge with CodingBat is that it doesn't offer the support that modern IDEs do - there's no syntax highlighting or error detection for typos or missing parentheses, which made small mistakes harder to catch. The biggest issue I faced was that the website looked like I am logged in (my login info stayed filled in in the top right corner of the website), but it turns out I was logged out the entire time. After completing many problems, I discovered that none of my work had been saved. There were no warnings or indicators, and I had to redo everything.

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